Durable: affordable, hand-to-machine made feel

From the hot weather in Houston, to the tropical humid rainy season in Merida, Mexico, I had the pleasure of wearing these wonderful 719’s for six good months. I transition to live in Mexico and walk everywhere. To work, or the gym, it outlasted anything I threw at it. It has gone through wet, hot, concrete or even CrossFit on a gym floor. I trained worked and trained every other day in these pair of Bronco leather boots, walking 4 miles to and from the gym every time.

There was a major break in. The back area did not bend and mold as easy as other boot structures. It did provided more than enough protection, but the leather had minimal stretch and give in the heel area. Due to the heavy outsole, the leather seemed to have an extra pull weighing it downward, and caused the leather to rub on my heel when I walked. The toe box was wide enough to always be comfortable. The only adjustment I would change is to not have the outsole stick out so much with the double stitching from outsole to overlay. I believe the extra width caused it to be too wide as I navigated through uneven concrete in Mexico. The leather did break in easily within a week to a soft feel, yet with minimal flexibility caused a tough break in. Even now the leather rubs too much on the heel sometimes. Their moccasins actually do a better job of molding to the moving contour of the foot compared to these 719. I did brushed the leather constantly and made sure to dry it indoors slowly when it got wet. The conditioner I used I made myself. I used a mixture of multiple ingredients, using beeswax as a base. I only applied minimal application every two month.

The most important aspect for me when ordering is width. The custom build option allowed me to have this in abundance. The sizing was very accurate if you used their online ruler option. I measured both my feet from heel to tip and choose the longest foot. I then ordered the size the website gave when compared in centimeters. Worked beautifully. Jim green website is very easy to navigate, even when it provides a massive amount of options. I had no issues. Although the outsole was a bit on the heavy side, wearability was easy and seems to successfully and comfortably cover a lot of terrains. The only floor I would strongly avoid in the outsole I chose is wet tile. I did easily slip and fall once. I explained the fall to my wife as a “Marv and Harry, toy cars, Home Alone fall”. I landed on my back with my backpack luckily breaking my fall. For dry concrete I give these outsoles a 10, for wet tile a -10. All in all, it is a great fit. I stick to my guns about there moccasins currently being their best option, but 719 is still an amazing boot.

The design is good. Not great. But, good. Considering my leather choice, with its welt stitching, I feel like the leather didn’t mold to my stride. The combination of heavy, thick outsole and straight upward design in the heel area created a painful combination; when it came to rubbing on my heel. It just did not arch or curve with my foot as I made a walking motion. I was constantly battling a strict 90 degree mold that would never budge or flex. The design of the toe box, however, was the 719 redeeming quality. It is that rare feeling of finding a boot that’s actually shaped like a human foot at the front. The actual construction is satisfactory. Not a hand made build quality, but it definitely gave a vibe of hand-touching-machine made feel. Could it have felt better like a Russell or Rancourt? Yes, but not for the fair price it was sold to me as. The finishing, as relates to leather, was more than satisfactory. It for sure gives quality leather to the customer. I may have chosen a different actual structure at the heel, but the bronco leather continued to give personality to the boot after every wear. Even where I would wrap the lace around my heel. It gave itself character to anything that touched it, all the while providing maximum durability.

If I had to do it all over, I would have chosen a different outsole. It was just very blocky, substantial, and weighty. It also caused the bronco leather to hold into place more and not be able to mold to my foot as well as it could have. It did hold up very well and provide extreme underfoot protection for these six months. The only safety concerns it gave me was when I walked on any smooth, hard, wet floors(like tile). It is level 10 safety hazard. I eventually slowed down the wearing of the Jim greens on super rainy weather after slipping and falling pretty hard.